Baiyun Hotel, 367 Huan Shi East Rd, Guangzhou, China
Visited 21st March 2010
Guangzhou's a bit of a trip for lunch, but Sunday morning I found myself sitting on the train for a farwell visit to see friends who are returning to Australia. Given that they are leaving town in a couple of weeks the lunch spot was their choice and rather unexpectedly i found myself at Sultan; a Turkish restaurant near the Baiyun Hotel and shopping centre. 
This place is one shinny joint; decked out in over the top sparkles even the washrooms are dripping in bling.
The menu contains all the classics you'd expect from traditional Turkish cuisine with plenty of dips, bread, salads and grilled meat. My friends ordered up a feast to share that included eggplant dip, tabbouleh, a 'double puff' pita, a 'Sultan' pide, grilled lamb with hummus and mixed mini Turkish pizzas. The eggplant dip was OK, though it needed a little more seasoning for my palate, I liked the creamy hummus, but my favourite dip was the complementary garlic sauce that was made from ultra fluffy whipped yogurt. The massive 'double puff' pita was close to two foot long and delicious straight from the oven. I didn't 
think much of rather boring, basic 'pizzas', but loved the extremely tasty 'Sultan' pide that oozed with feta, spinach and cheese. The slithers of flavoursome grilled lamb were good while the mint and parsley in the tabbouleh offered the meal contrast with its freshness. The guys at Sultan don't serve alcohol so lunch was a boozeless affair, but with all that food I was happy with simple glass of water.
I really enjoyed lunch at Sultan. The food was pretty authentic, tasty and, at RMB80 a head, good value considering how stuffed we were when we left. The staff did a good job and my only concern is that you may need to wear sun glasses when using the facilities. Sultan Restaurant certainly isn't what you expect for a typical visit to Guangzhou, but for those looking for something a bit different it’s worth a shot. 
Visit restaurant website.
Taizi Plaza, Taizi Road, Shekou, Shenzhen
Visited 31st January 2010
Sunday morning in Shekou and before the strangeness got even weirder with a visit to Windows on the World we decided brunch was in order. A stroll around the plaza at Sea World didn't come up with many exciting options so we wondered across the street and found this little place tucked away on the first floor of a building off a small mall. I'm not totally sure of the address in English, but in Chinese it is '南山蛇口太子路太子廣場'. The restaurant is a pretty big space, though it's relatively dark and 
even at this early stage of the day there was the mandatory filthy cloud of cigarette smoke.
I'm no expert on Hunan cuisine, but apparently it's all about garlic, shallots and lots and lots of chilli. The menu had English translations and once we saw the bargain prices we ordered in a greedy frenzy. Our 'quiet' brunch suddenly consisted of steamed chicken with garlic, cellophane noodles, dumplings and beans with pork. First off arrived a big bowl of sweet potato based cellophane noodles; simply served with a light chill dressing these slippery noodles were filling and tasty. Next came half a steamed chicken smothered in a mountain of garlic, chilli and an oily soy based sauce; this dish was packed with intense flavour and was really tasty. I couldn't work out what type of beans we got, but the big green monsters were crisp and tasty. Accompanied by pork, garlic and again lots of chilli I really liked this dish. Our final order was a plate of dumplings ... twenty dumplings, yes
twenty. We were already stuffed at this stage, but these steamed parcels were stuffed with pork and chives and while good, were nothing memorable.
I'm really glad we stumbled across Hunan Renjia Restaurant. I enjoyed trying the tastes and flavours of Hunan, though I'm not too sure how often I could handle the hit of garlic and chilli that seems such a key element of this style of cuisine. Our tasty meal was excellent value at just over RMB100 for a mountain of food. The service was good, though the food was pretty slow to come out. Hunan Renjia Restaurant offers an authentic alternative to the coffee chains and western restaurants around the Sea World area.
1-4, Seaworld Plaza, Taizi Rd, Shekou, Shenzhen
Visited 30th January 2010
Shenzhen is usually pretty high on my list of 'places I can't see the bloody point in visiting', but the need for a night away meant that Joey and I headed across the really sexily named 'Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor Cable-Stayed Bridge Bridge' and into a world of weirdness. We stayed at the Cruise Inn; a strange, strange place in the expat enclave of Shekou. The hotel is really an old cruise ship that's been dumped on dry land; there are bizarre views of a golf course and shops out the portholes.
For dinner we took a recommendation from a mate and tried Tairyo Teppanyaki Restaurant. This Japanese joint is located out the front of the hotel in the Seaworld Plaza; an area where bars and Italian restaurants jostle with branches of bad international coffee chains. The restaurant is scattered with individual teppanyaki grills surrounded on by bar style seating.
Tairyo Teppanyaki Restaurant offers an all you can eat and drink dinner option for RMB150 that sounded like a bargain to good to refuse. While we waited for our chef to appear we were bought a number of nibbly snacks including some OK tempura and eel sushi. The deal basically includes everything on the menu apart from wagyu beef and lobster. We munched our way through a fair bit including scallops, prawns, steak, lamb chops, chicken and mushrooms. The food was well cooked and tasty and I particularly enjoyed prawns and tasty lamb. My only complaint would be the lack of variety in the seasonings - it would have been nice to have seen the chef use something other than a mix of garlic, soy and wine that flavoured all the dishes in the same way. Included with the deal was plenty of cold, free flowing Asahi, a mystery red I didn't try and a surprisingly palatable Great Well White.
China can offer pretty mixed results in the eating and drinking department, but I really enjoyed my visit to Tairyo Teppanyaki Restaurant. The staff were extremely efficient and I was impressed with how we were kept topped up with both food and booze. We weren't rushed at all and as we didn't feel any pressure to leave it was great to be able to just kick back, chat, drink and enjoy the odd freshly prepared little barbecued snack. Though it certainly wasn't the most exciting or innovative Japanese food I've ever had it was all well prepared and tasty. At RMB150 Tairyo Teppanyaki Restaurant seemed to offer a bit of a bargain, especially considering the amount we ate and drunk. My only problem was the filthy clouds of cigarette smoke exhaled by the rude and ignorant, but that's just a hazard of being in China and nothing against this restaurant. I had a fun night at Tairyo Teppanyaki Restaurant and would love to come back with a big group for a boozy night out across 'Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor Cable-Stayed Bridge Bridge'.
20 Middle Hong Kong Rd, Qingdao
Visited August 2008
Being in China is normally a culinary adventure of the highest magnitude, but when you're with a bunch of Olympic athletes things aren't quite as exciting. In Qingdao exotic wok offerings and suspect things on sticks took a back burner to the security and comfort of daily doses of pasta. Located smack bang in the middle of the Central business district Salvatore was our restaurant of choice and I reckon I ate here three or four times while in town. The big open restaurant has an old-school vibe with checked table clothes, cheesy murals covering the walls and an open kitchen at the end ruled over by a very Italian chef, with a very cool moustache.
The menu has all the Italian classics, but features a fantastic selection of pasta sauces and a good number of interesting meat dishes. I remember fondly a serve of spaghetti marinara packed with plenty of fresh seafood and some delicately tender spinach stuffed ravioli. The big generous serves at Salvatore were good and I was perhaps most impressed by the use of fresh ingredients, especially fresh herbs and seafood. In China were wine is very much hit and miss so I was shocked by how good Salvatore's winelist was. The selection was all Italian, but it was balanced; there were some big Amarones and Barolos, but also plenty of value plays from Sicilia and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. We drunk decent wine every night and didn't spend over ¥200 a bottle which, for China, is good.
OK it is kind of a bit surreal to spend night after night in China eating at an Italian restaurant, but if you've going to do it Salvatore's isn't a bad place to be stuck. The foods authentic, reasonably priced and tasty; the winelist is surprisingly decent and the service is good. I'm a fan though next time I'm in Qingdao I would like to try somewhere else...
CZ 3451 Shenzhen to Lijiang 10th August 2008
Apart from having to offset a heap of a lot of carbon credits, one thing about taking ten flights in a month means you eat way too much airline food. I thought I offer a quick little summary of how it all tasted: 
• QANTAS - relatively good and assisted by an solid choice of beverages.
• Virgin Blue - having to pay results in a very polite "get stuffed".
• Dragon Air - pretty good and washed down with banter from a very amusing Captain.
• China Eastern - below average and just palatable.
• and finally China Southern. What do China Southern and food have in common? Nothing. The picture shows the box of 'delicious' treats we were given on the five hour flight. A stale 'bun' filled with suspect tuna like substance, an extremely solid piece of 'cake' and a tub of iron hard 'jelly' that resembled a yellow rock; mmmmm truly tasty.
Ping'an, Longsheng, China
Visited 8th August 2008
The Guilin area has bucket loads of natural wonders to awe the visitor. Exploring the town's limestone caves, cruising the spectacular Li River and checking out the fantastic Yangshuo Lightshow are all impressive, but for me the highlight was the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. This truly spectacular spot is located in mountainous Longsheng county, a couple of hours north of Guilin. From the c
arpark visitors trek through steep, but scenic rice terraces to the village of Ping'an were we found the Moon Lake Hotel and lunch.
Though it's packed with eager sightseers the Moon Lake Hotel is still beautifully basic; there's chickens cruising the floor, but there're also fantastic views of the village and valley. Regional specialities are the name of the day and we enjoyed an assorted feast that included: bamboo baked chicken and rice, fried frogs, sautéed potatoes, fresh water fish and a fried local vegetable. The tasty chicken was packed tight into its bamboo case and the rice beneath absorbed a lot of flavour. Appropriately green and slimy the pile of frogs' legs were complimented by a sweet sauce and vegetables. The fish and potatoes were both good, while the 'fried local vegetable' was interesting. I'm not sure what the leaves were, but they had an almost furry texture and a strong, slightly aniseed taste.
There wasn't much to dislike about our lunch at the Moon Lake Hotel. In spots like this price doesn't really matter but it was still good value, with most dishes under asdsd30. The food was fresh and authentic and the views awesome, though they got even better as we followed the trail higher. If you're in the Guilin area get yourself up to Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, lunch at the Moon Lake Hotel will only be the start of the fun.
No. 5 The Bund, 7/F, Shanghai, China
Visited 23rd March
Located smack bang in the of Shanghai's grand old colonial past, M on the Bund has gained a reputation for being one of Shanghai's finest Western restaurants as well as its best located. It's an off shoot of Hong Kong's acclaimed M on the Fringe and was founded by Michelle Garnaut a chef originally from Melbourne. Set in a beautiful old building there are great views of the Bund from the windows and roof terrace. The restaurant works with this historic location and tries to maintain an ambiance of classic glamour. The personalised crockery, heavy silver cutlery and bone handled knives all bring the old school cool. We went for dinner with friends whom we were visiting Shanghai with.
The menu at M on the Bund offers an interesting mix of Mediterranean inspired dishes. I started with a juicy roasted pigeon that was rich in flavour, though I would have liked the skin a little crisper. For a main I chose the interesting sounding stuffed garfish, while my three companions went with slow roasted lamb. The baked garfish were filled with eggplant, currents and pine nuts and accompanied b
y cauliflower puree and tiny cauliflower fritters; it was a delicate, delicious dish with extra points for originality. I tried the others' lamb and though stringy it was tender and tasty and accompanied by a generous pile of pumpkin and feta dressed kale. I was intrigued by the food's presentation as my garfish were artistically draped across the plate while the lamb was served slapped in an ungainly, towering pile. Naomi was more than happy with the brandy snap filled with berry compote and ricotta cream that she ordered for dessert. The wine list was good, though not cheap. We drunk an average bottle of 'house' Sauvignon Blanc, a delicious crisp Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2007, a decent Oyster Bay Pinot Noir 2006 and an overpriced half bottle of Brown Brothers Flora & Muscat 2006.
The superb location of M on the Bund combined with the lush, opulent settings presents a chance to recapture a little of Shanghai's past glamour. The staff were unobtrusive and professional, though lacking in personality and smiles. Our bill run up to hefty ¥3,105; while the food was good and we had four bottles of wine, I can't say it was particularly amasing value. Our evening at M on the Bund was extremely enjoyable; good location, good food and good friends. As a footnote, M on the Bund must get an award for the best flower arrangement I've ever seen in a blokes' bathroom.
Visit restaurant website.
This place is one shinny joint; decked out in over the top sparkles even the washrooms are dripping in bling.
think much of rather boring, basic 'pizzas', but loved the extremely tasty 'Sultan' pide that oozed with feta, spinach and cheese. The slithers of flavoursome grilled lamb were good while the mint and parsley in the tabbouleh offered the meal contrast with its freshness. The guys at Sultan don't serve alcohol so lunch was a boozeless affair, but with all that food I was happy with simple glass of water.
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